Archive for April, 2010

Let me start out by saying that I’m happy with the Redskins 2010 draft. I’m not overly excited and I don’t think this years draft is in any danger of being confused with 1981’s haul…but it was a good solid 7. It will be a couple of seasons before we truly know how any of the players drafted will pan out in the NFL but it’s never too early to scrutinize the picks, that’s where I come in. It’s the could’ve had this player, should’ve drafted this guy and would’ve drafted him if I were running the draft post.

This is the pick that will face the most scrutiny but they needed an O-lineman and they drafted one, props for that. Okung was on the board and these 2 players will be linked as pros.

Rd 2 pick 37 Donovan McNabb QB
Could’ve had…Sergio Kindle OLB

You don’t take a project like McNabb with the 5th pick…oh wait, that was an Eagles fan 11 years ago. So we didn’t really draft McNabb, but we traded this pick for him. I’d rather have McNabb than any other QB that was available in this year’s draft, great pick. Kindle would be a great complement to Orakpo and the Skins need linebackers for the 3-4 defense that they are switching to. Instead, Kindle goes to the Ravens who know a thing or two about the linebackers and the 3-4 defense.

Rd 3 pick 68 Jeremy Jarmon DT
Could’ve had…Morgan Burnett S

Jarmon was a supplemental pick last season who produced 8 tackles in 11 games last season before tearing his ACL. Jarmon has potential and may see time at OLB and DE in 2010. Burnett is a “ball hawking safety w/ range to cover sideline to sideline.” I think the Skins need a player fitting that description.

Riley has a legitimate chance to start and the Skins needed LB’s so I’m good with this pick. Campbell is a “workout warrior” who stock skyrocketed during the combine…why is it always Maryland players who rise so much during the combine? Vernon Davis, Heyward-Bey, Al Davis fell for it again. Campbell is a project, but he was originally thought to be a 1st round pick, so he was a great value pick here.

Rd 5 pick 135 Adam Carriker DT
Could’ve had…Perrish Cox CB

Another trade with the Redskins receiving Carriker, a former 1st round pick of the Rams just 3 years ago. Carriker missed all of last season and hasn’t played well when healthy. The Skins need help at CB and didn’t draft any, Cox would’ve been nice here.

Morris will play FB/TE/HB for the Skins and appears to be a bad-ass blocker and special teams player, which may spell the end for Mike Sellers. However, Morris was not ranked in the top 50 TE’s entering the draft and may have been available with one of the 7th round picks. Dwyer was ranked as one of the best RB’s available but his stock dropped because of a positive test for weed (Randy Moss, Warren Sapp.) Dwyer would have been a steal here and a great addition to a crowded, but old, backfield.

Rd 7 pick 219 Terrance Austin WR
Could’ve had…George Selvie DE/OLB

Don’t know a lot about Morris but he’s supposed to excel in the return game and the Skins are certainly lacking in that area. Selvie was projected to be a top 15 pick had he came out after junior year, but the poor bastard returned to school, faced double and triple teams and watched Jason Pierre-Paul steal his thunder and his $$. You can’t tell me a guy drops from top 15 to nearly undrafted in 1 season, especially one who hasn’t suffered injury. He would have been a great pick as an OLB/DE hybrid in the 3-4.

I’m happy the Skins drafted Trent Williams, I preferred Okung but I’ll take the most “athletic” tackle in the draft. An added bonus, he can chew gum and talk at the same time.

Tonight will be very boring unless the Redskins can get creative with trades and get themselves a 2nd or 3rd round pick. This draft is very deep and a lot of talented players will be available in the next 50 picks.

The Haynesworth trade possibilities are dwindling. The Titans say they’re out and the Lions/Bucs both drafted DT’s with the 2nd and 3rd overall picks. Albert is our best bargaining chip to get back in rounds 2 or 3. Of course, the Skins could trade a 1st rounder next year for someone they really like in round 2 this season.

I can’t see how the Redskins can just release Jason Campbell for nothing. He was a 1st round pick and has played fairly well over the last 3 seasons. You have to get something for him, even if it’s a late round pick next season. If not, pay him the $3 million to be your backup, McNabb always misses 2 or 3 games a year.

Roger Goodell must be sore today from all the chest bumping and bear hugs he received last night.

Did anybody see when the cameras cut to Tebow to get his reaction to the Steelers taking his college teammate, Maurkice Pouncey? I guess they were expecting the Tebow household to explode with excitement, instead they got zero reaction. Zero.

Did anybody see the exchanges between Jamie Dukes and Jim Mora Jr? They don’t seem to like each other much. Highlights included Dukes saying that Mora was still getting paid $15 million to say good things about the Seahawks and that if you don’t draft the right people you end up fired after 1 seasons and working in TV.

Big Ben heard his future chants for the upcoming season…”she said no, she said no.” To which Big Ben responded “don’t speak with your mouth full.” Thats wrong, I know.

Finally, if the Redskins find a way to pick tonight here are some of the guys I like that remain available that will probably go in the 2nd or 3rd rounds:

The key to the Redskins draft may not be the #4 overall pick in the draft, but what value they can receive in a trade for Albert Haynesworth. If the Redskins are willing to take the $32 million dollar hit to move Albert…and in an uncapped season I believe they are…he’s a valuable trade commodity.

Over the past 2 years several inferior D-tackles have been moved for draft picks. In 2009 Shaun Rogers was traded to the Browns for a 3rd round pick, he immediately signed a contract with $20 million in guarantees. In 2008 the Browns traded their 2nd round pick for Corey Williams, he immediately signed a contract worth $16 million in guarantees. Also in 2008, a declining Kris Jenkins was traded to the Jets for a 3rd & 5th round pick, he immediately signed a contract for $20 million guaranteed. If you go back further…who can forget the Redskins trading Sean Gilbert to the Panthers for two 1st round picks in 98, he signed immediately for $46 million.

Albert is a better player than all of those guys and he’s also only one year removed from being the biggest catch of the 2009 free agency period. Albert’s guaranteed only $9 million over the next 3 years…he’s a steal. The Bucs, Titans and Lions could all be players for Albert and he could/should command a minimum of a 2nd & 3rd rounder in return. If you were a NFL executive would you rather take an unknown talent like Suh or McCoy and guarantee those players $30-35 million or trade for Albert and pay only $9 million?

Adding additional picks in the 2nd or 3rd rounds could be the key for the Redskins, this draft is very deep and talent will be available. It’s clear that Albert no longer is a fit for the Redskins defense and he isn’t interested in becoming a team player moving forward. Pull the trigger, cut your losses.

I also look for Campbell to be moved during the draft. However, with QB positions being so muddled across the league, it may be for a 4th rounder next year, or with fingers crossed a 3rd rounder…Al Davis? Looking forward to the drama.

Last week the Outback Pro Am took place here in Florida. It’s a stop on the Champions Tour…or the “old geezer” tour. The one exciting thing about this event is that is does feature celebrities that have included Bill Murray, Jerry Rice, Kevin Costner, Mark Wahlberg and Michael J. Fox, to name a few, How Michael J. Fox can play golf is a testament to him and his determination in his fight against Parkinson’s.

Anyway, one of the professional contestants in the event was Tiger Woods good friend Mark O’Meara, who would finish 2nd in the tourney. Mark showed major improvement in his short game compared to his previous outing at the Masters. He dropped this little tidbit to the St Pete Times:

“I got a putting lesson from Tiger last week at Augusta,” said O’Meara, who averaged 1.3 putts per green Friday. “He had his camera phone out there. He just told me to swing a little bit more off to the right and feel the toe release instead of coming over it. I agree with him. That’s what I do.”

Now, who cares about a 53 year old golfers putting…not me. However, I’m very intrigued to know that Tiger’s got a camera phone. I mean, we’ve already read all the text messages that came from that phone (link contains strong Tiger language)…can the pictures be far behind? A pictures worth a thousand words. Stay tuned…

The site is just a baby at this point (2 weeks old) but we are hoping for big things. Please check it out, bookmark it, subscribe to it, follow it and tell your friends. You can catch up with my posts here. My most recent post was about the summer 20 years ago when current Kansas City Royals manager Trey Hillman coached me…hope you enjoy.

Batting Practice With Trey Hillman

It was the summer of 1989, I was a few months away from obtaining my drivers license and a few months past finally cutting the mullet that I had been working the previous few years. The better part of that summer was spent playing baseball, wiffleball or hitting wadded up paper balls with a window squeegee. When I wasn’t playing ball, I was following it. Specifically, I was following my hometown single A minor league team, the Prince William Cannons.

It didn’t matter that the Cannons were affiliated with the Yankees, although it would have been a lot better if they weren’t. The Cannons put together a magical 2nd half to that season and ended up winning the league championship. I was there to see a lot of those games and no player or coach had a bigger impact on that team than current Royals manager Trey Hillman.

The records show that Stump Merrill was the manager of the 89’ Cannons, however he missed a lot of games due to illness. Trey was the 3rd base coach and took over the team in Stump’s absence. I used to stand along the 3rd base line and chat with Trey during games and he’d do cool things like give me foul balls. Sometime during that summer it was announced that the Cannons would be holding a camp for youth baseball players, I signed up right away. My buddy Chris and I turned out to be the only 2 non-grade school kids to show up for the camp. We were both on the high school baseball team and had talent. It was during this 2 day camp that Trey took us to the side and did what comes naturally to him, he coached baseball.

The camp was set to take place on the practice fields outside the main stadium. However, Trey took Chris and I inside the main stadium and worked with us for the better part of 2 days, personal 1 on 1 instruction with a future major league manager. Although I would later play organized games on that very field and eventually play in several minor league stadiums in my baseball career, that was the first time I got the experience of playing in that kind of scenery. It was super cool to walk thru the clubhouse and step out onto the manicured field and have the whole place to ourselves. Trey went thru bucket and after bucket of balls, pitching batting practice for hours in the hot Virginia sun…I was in the zone at the plate the rest of that summer. At the time Trey was just 26 years old, his own professional career (3 years in the minors) only recently over. I’m sure there was a lot of other things he would have rather been doing…no I’m sure there wasn’t anything else he’d rather be doing, he seemed to be enjoying himself as much as Chris and I.

Trey would be named manager of the Oneonta Yankees single A team in 1990. I’ve never seen him again. He toiled in the minors for 11 seasons as a minor league manager, reaching the Yankees AAA level. He then went overseas to manage in Japan for 5 seasons, winning a championship there. Finally, in 2007, after nearly 20 years in the minors and Japan, Trey was named as manager of the Royals. He worked hard and made his dreams come true.

As for me, I got my driver’s license which allowed me to score chicks and booze. I spent more time focusing on those 2 things than I did baseball. I now work in the automobile industry and blog for some guy named the “Fat White Guy.” I’m living the dream!

Happy birthday Wilber Marshall. Wilber played 5 seasons for the Redskins from 1988-92. Marshall played in all 80 games over that span, despite battling many injuries during that time. Marshall tallied 621 tackles, 24.5 sacks, 12 int’s and 13 forced fumbles during his Redskins career. I’ve written before about how I feel about Wilber, he had an 8 year span where he was one of the best linebackers in the game and is a Hall of Famer in my mind. Happy 48th Mr. Marshall.

Happy birthday Fred Smoot. Fred played 7 seasons for the Redskins from 2001-2009. Drafted in the 2nd round of the 2001 draft by Marty Schottenheimer, Fred would go on to appear in 104 games as a Redskin. Fred totaled 346 tackles and 18 int’s during his Redskins tenure. Although he was a fan favorite for his outgoing personality and quotable interviews, Fred’s skills had diminished the past couple seasons and he was released in March of this year. Happy 31st Mr. Smoot.

Happy birthday Richie Petitbon. Richie played 2 seasons at safety for the Redskins from 71-72. He’s more well known for spending 16 seasons on the Redskins coaching staff which included succeeding Joe Gibbs as head coach in 93’. Although the 93’ season was a disaster, Richie should be remembered as one of the great defensive coordinators of his time. For over a decade his teams ranked consistently in the top 10 each season in total defense. He was committed to the Redskins and turned down several head coaching jobs during his Redskins coaching career, that loyalty got him fired after 1 season at the helm. To my surprise, Richie has never coached in the NFL or football of any kind since then. Thought for sure some team would lure him back out of retirement. A quick look at his statistics as a player shows that he played 14 seasons in 3 different decades, intercepted 48 balls and was a 4 time Pro Bowler. He also returned an interception 101 yards for a touchdown…can you see old Richie lumbering 101 yards? Happy 72nd Mr. Petitbon.

Happy birthday Walt Williams. “The Wizard” played 4 seasons for the Terps from 1988-92. The fact that Walt stayed all 4 years is what makes him one of my favorite Terps of all-time. During his tenure the Terps were facing heavy NCAA sanctions and the program was in the dumps. Besides turning down the chance to transfer to another school, Walt also decided against turning pro early. This helped the Terps stay competitive and the program to start restoring its legacy on the national level. Walt was a forward/guard who wore #42. His game was similar, in my opinion, to Magic Johnson’s. Walt could pass, rebound and shoot well inside or outside. He averaged 26.8 ppg, 5.6rpg and 3.6 apg his senior season. Walt would take his high socks to the NBA and had a decent 11 year career. Happy 40th Mr. Williams.

Cheers and Hail

Editor’s note: I’m not 100% sure what the correct way to spell Wilber Marshall’s first name is, Wilber or Wilbur? Not sure, it’s spelled both ways in many diffrent publications on the net. I’m going with the Redskins spelling of his name, from their official website and his page on the 70 Greatest Redskins list. Surely the Redskins wouldn’t misspell the name of one of their greatest players would they? If someone is 100% sure of the correct spelling, let me know. Thanks